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Currently, text searching is difficult because the user usually gets more information than he/she wants or

not the right information In part, this is because most of the time, the user does not know what type of

information they are looking for. In order to remedy this problem, in the article entitled, "Sorting Out

Searching, A User-Interface Framework for Text Searches", Ben Shneiderman, Donald Byrd, and W.

Bruce Croft propose a four-phase search framework consisting of "formulation (what happens before the

user starts a search); action (starting the search); review of results (what the user sees resulting from the

search); and refinement (what happens after review of results and before going back to formulation)."

(Shneiderman, 96) This process is one that repeats as the user narrows down the search criteria to reach

specifically what they are looking for.

he formulation step is when the user must make some very important decisions regarding their search such as

what sources should they use in their search, what documents they should search, and what text to search for.

The formulation step is typically the most complex as it requires the user to know have a good prior
understanding of exactly what is the desired information. The action step is when the user actually begins to

search. Typically, this is done by clicking the "Search" button for most search engines, but more and more "an

appealing alternative is ‘dynamic queries’ in which there is no Search button, but the result set is continuously
displayed and updated as the user changes the search. The dynamic-queries technique requires adequate screen

space and rapid processing, but the advantages are great, allowing a user to broaden, narrow, and refocus a

search several times in as many seconds."(Shneiderman, 97) The review results step is when the user analyses
what the search tool has provided to determine if the information is what he/she desires or if additional

searches need to be made. Finally refinement is the process where the user, having reviewed the results,

determines how further searches can be changes, refined, and/or modified.